Beauty . . . is everywhere!

I often jokingly say . . .

"Beauty is in the eyelids of the beholder."

There is an element of truth in this. It suggests that the world is sometimes such an ugly, offensive place, we must resort to projecting within our mind's eye an imagined reality, creating a beauty that's not really there but meets our craving for visual delight.

I just returned from three weeks in Scandinavia, the fulfillment of a lifelong yearning to see this unique part of the world.

A few of those days were spent in Norway, and I am convinced that it may be the most beautiful country in the world. The photo at the head of this blog is the Geirangerfjord, which is indescribable __ even the above picture can't begin to capture the breathtaking majesty of this phenomenal place.

Since my return home, I've introduced into my routine something new. I've started to climb a small mountain __ maybe 1100 feet __ three times a week.

Besides improving my stamina, it has also resulted in a profound epiphany.

This is the view from the top . . .

 

If you have a good arm, you could throw a rock and hit my house from up here. It is less than 3/4 of a mile from my doorstep to the trail head and only takes a few minutes to get there on my bike.

Here are some other highlights of the hike, which takes about an hour round trip.



Getting back to the epiphany . . .
 

When I was in Africa working for a number of NGOs, we would visit various local organizations which were giving much-needed help to area residents. This is a photo from a visit to an AIDS/HIV orphanage.

Like the other 120 children there, this little girl was HIV positive. In this region __ the poorest, most-backward sub-county in Uganda __ that is a death sentence.  This lovely, innocent child is probably dead now.  She took a special liking to me, was so giggly and full of life at the time, full of the blind optimism of youth.

It's heartbreaking to think about.

In any case, on my official visits, I was usually asked to sign an organization's guest book. On one of my walks up the mountain the other morning, I remembered what I used to always write above my signature . . .

"There is beauty everywhere."

In the midst of the worst squalor and unconscionable living conditions, immersed in the uncertainty and despair of the most hopeless situations, one can find beauty.

Though I'm glad I did, I didn't have to fly 5,200 miles for a view that would take my breath away after all.

It was right down the street.

[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Donald Knows Best

 

It's obvious why everyone loves Donald Trump. He's saying the right things and people finally have someone speaking their minds. He's spewing the ignorant, hateful, ill-informed, and entirely irrational stuff a lot of folks have been thinking but were too embarrassed to say themselves.

Hillary's handlers have her saying the right things too, but there's a reason why she is not resonating. Everyone knows she's a pathological liar, a political chameleon, and a self-aggrandizing opportunist. And those are her pluses. It goes downhill from there. Just like her recent poll numbers.

Granted, Donald Trump isn't the sharpest needle in the haystack.

But the office of president is a team effort. Thus, what Grand Canyon-size deficiencies the master of the comb-over might bring to the job can readily be offset by making the right Cabinet appointments.

Thus, I've taken the liberty of putting together the Donald Trump dream team. They all coincidentally are named Donald, which in a twisted way assures absolute transparency. Whatever flashes of genius come from this synergistic partnership as they lead America into a new age of peace, love, harmony, respect, and national pride, we'll always know:

"It was Donald's idea."

Here we go . . .

 

Donald Sutherland: Secretary of Bible Studies. I don't know where he stands politically __ he's probably another closet Communist like 99% of those Hollywood liberals __ or what his religious inclinations are, but look at that beard and hair! My goodness, it's enough to make Moses twitch with envy.

In terms of credentials, did you see him in MASH?

What a cut up!

 

Donald Rumsfeld: Secretary of Known Unknowns. This probably comes as a surprise. But considering the other appointments and being entirely objective about President Trump himself, I truly felt his administration needed some sex appeal.  Granted, at 83, Rumsfeld probably seems like an odd choice, given the availability of Donald "Donny" Osmond. But the fact is, Rumsfeld who was literally a sex god during the George W. Bush presidency is still living up to his libidinous image with the ladies as "yummy Rummy" __ even as his evident decay accelerates. Hey, what can I say? Like the expression goes . . . Some people have just got it, baby!


 

Donald O'Connor: Secretary of State. So many of our politicos are accused of dancing around the truth. Well, here's a guy who can really dance!  Who can forget his sensational make-'em-laugh routine in "Singing In The Rain"?

Granted, this phenomenal talent has been dead for over a decade. But this is actually an advantage. He won't be able to wreak as much chaos and destruction, or further destroy America's reputation in the world, as his recent maniacal predecessors. Besides, even dead he has more charisma than John Kerry.


 

Donald Duck: Secretary of the Treasury. Okay okay. I'm stretching it here. A cartoon character? Actually, when it comes to things like the debt ceiling, the responsibility of shaping a coherent budget, the U.S. honoring its financial obligations, abiding by international law, or just handling the press, 'duck' seems to be the operating word.

Besides, after having Timothy Geitner as Secretary of the Treasury, and watching all of the other Wall Street crooks sucking up to the Obama administration, it will be refreshing to have someone looking after our nation's financial interests who comes with no nasty baggage.  Name one major scandal involving Donald Duck, and I'll send you my entire collection of Kajagoogoo posters.

 

Yo! MC Donald: Secretary of Education in the Popular Arts. Here's a guy with a real solid rap sheet. Successful entrepreneur, acclaimed and respected nutritionist, great role model, loved by the whole family, an all-around good guy. Beyond putting a smile on reporters' pouty little pusses during press conferences, his is the sort of "public face" America needs today across the globe to offset its standing reputation as a warmongering rogue nation. And how can you not love this man? It has been rumored that based on the enormous success of teaching Ebonics in the public schools, this forward-thinking adviser to President Trump will be introducing "Beginning and Advanced Rap" into the curricula of all federally-funded school districts. Every student will receive a free rhyming dictionary, plus a 75-watt signature Kanye West beat box will be provided for every class room.

Admit it.  Isn't this what makes America great?  Everyone else in the world takes all this political stuff WAY TOO SERIOUSLY, whereas here in the U.S. we know that it's all just a TV sitcom, merely another way to market more stuff, an ever-abounding assembly line of products we never knew we needed until we saw them on television and in YouTube ads.

Which, by the way, includes a phenomenal selection of Donald Trump tie clasps, charm bracelets, t-shirts, action figures, and bronze busts for the mantle or dining room table.

Don't wait until it's too late. Once Trump takes the oath of office, the price of this stuff is going through the roof!



[ This post originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

Nothing new . . . but who knew or even knows now?

 

I finally got around to reading Confessions of An Economic Hit Man by John Perkins.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares about America and is concerned
with the recent proliferation of events and crises which appear to be sabotaging much 
of what most of us hold dear about our country. I especially recommend it to people out
there who have naively bought into the satisfying but quite simplistic
notion that everything our country does is wonderful and altruistic,
that our primary mission in the world is and has been to spread
democracy, promote justice and human rights, fight for freedom and
equality, that the U.S. just wants peace and only resorts to violence
and military conflict as a last resort.

I do this, not to shock anyone, or pursue some malicious agenda.

I do this because humankind appears to be rushing headlong down a suicidal path
which can only result in the extinction of our species, yet somehow we
face our self-annihilation not with alarm and trepidation, but embrace
and celebrate most of what is taking us there, with glee and joyful
abandon. Actually, much of what the book talks about has been going on,
unbeknownst to most of us (including myself), for a long time. And I
believe the only way to turn things around and begin constructive and
cooperative engagement with the rest of the world community __ if it's
not too late __ is to fully understand what the worst of these
activities consists of, to openly confront what has been done in our names as 
U.S. citizens, and analyze what prompts such sinister pursuits, towards 
demanding this ugly business immediately stop.

Much of what I discovered in Confessions
aligned with my already deeply held suspicions about the "purity" of
our values and intentions, and my intuitive sense of the hollowness of
the self-congratulatory rhetoric we disseminate as to our exceptional
role in history as the nation chosen by destiny to lead.

But going far beyond those superficial impressions, Perkins' highly readable
exposition provided a thorough and clear narrative which explains, among
other things, what often appear to be dubious, self-sabotaging
decisions by our political leaders, decisions which seem to be at odds
with the broader interests of the country. It also goes a long way
toward explaining why America's favored approach is quickly making us
the most hated empire in modern times.

Our methodology is easy to grasp.  America sends out some of its finest
economic advisers to developing countries in the world to recommend
taking on huge loans for infrastructure development.  These are provided
mostly through the IMF and World Bank.  Our advisers are referred to as
EHMs, as in 'economic hit men', and their job is to use all sorts of
highly sophisticated models, dense and incomprehensible statistics and
other persuasive devices, to conjure overly-optimistic forecasts for all
of the wonderful benefits of taking on highly inflated bank loans.
These loans are never intended to be paid back. They are by design so
onerous they guarantee default, at which time the banks go into the
country and take over national assets, plunder the natural resources __
oil, gas, diamonds, precious metals __ and privatize the public
services.  Essentially, the banks "repo" the country.  By the way, we
have been watching this exact scenario unfold in Greece over the past 
couple years. Tragically, Ukraine has also bought into this shell game.

This is what imperialism looks like in the 21st Century. America is conquering
the world, one country at a time, using its own wealth and powerful
economic institutions to gobble up naive and unsuspecting victim
countries, impoverishing their populations, enriching their oligarchic
class (who get a nice cut of the initial loans but force their own
citizens to pay the loan balance), stripping the wealth that could have
been used to raise the countries out of poverty, and lastly gaining a
permanent foothold for our military bases and further corporate
exploitation.

The real kicker is that the money for these loans never arrives in the countries
themselves. These deals are arranged so that the public works projects
__ dams, hydroelectric plants, communication systems, and other
infrastructure __ are all performed by giant American corporations like
Halliburton and Bechtel. The loans go from the banks into the coffers of
these behemoths, with virtually none of it trickling down to help the
local populations.

So we loan the country money they can never repay, the money goes to U.S.
corporations, the country defaults, we go in and plunder the nation's
resources, our already incredibly wealthy .01% who own the corporations
get even richer, America ends up with another vassal state, and the
people of the country sink even deeper in misery.

This is what passes for the noble work of the U.S. across our globe.

I would love to say that I admire Mr. Perkins for his "confession". I certainly
appreciate the insider view he has given into the vicious enterprise
which he himself participated in and benefited from over most of his
life.  He claims that he had moral issues with what he was doing over
the entire course of his career. That he waited over thirty years,
during which time he accumulated a sizable fortune and lived the
privileged life of a high-level corporate executive, before he finally
made the break from his notorious, highly destructive career as an EHM,
casts a long shadow of doubt as to his honor and how much praise he
deserves for his late-adopted penitent role as whistle blower.

We all make difficult choices in life, putting career before art, sometimes job
before family or community service. But for most of us, the little
compromises and rationalizations don't result in the destruction of
whole countries, uprooting of hundreds of thousands of people, genocide
of indigenous tribes, ruination of rain forests, the poisoning and
devastation of entire ecosystems, wholesale plundering of economies, the
enslavement of millions of innocent individuals, or accelerating the
crippling wealth inequality across the planet.

Mr. Perkins should be commended for telling his story and giving invaluable
insights into the behind-the-scenes workings of U.S. foreign policy, but
he certainly should not be given a pass for the decades he gave in
service to such horrifying plunder, especially considering his
dedication and effectiveness as a corporate sellout of the worst kind
ultimately made possible this book, which will net him even more income,
yet another reward for his villainous role as an economic hit man.


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]

The Man Who Loved Too Much Trilogy

Hard at work on "The Man Who Loved Too Much" in 

Pokhara, Nepal ... May 2009.

I confess to being schizophrenic.

There are two distinct personalities co-existing in this one John Rachel.

One is the political, driving my skewed commentary on world events ... often resulting in death threats.

The other is the artistic, inspiring my work as a novelist. This often results in ... more death threats.

Hmm.  Am I doing something wrong?

In any case, everyone can breathe easy. This is not a political rant.

In fact, it's a celebration!

Six years ago, while living in Nepal and India, I wrote the initial draft of The Man Who Loved Too Much. Gosh, I was proud, hopeful, ecstatic. Much work and many long hours went into this patently semi-autobiographical tome, which weighed in at over 800 pages.

Like the clueless and naive apprentice that I was, I sent my masterpiece out to hundreds of publishers and literary agents. The unanimous reaction was that it was too long! Too long? Maybe I should have called it The Man Who Wrote Too Much.

Understandably, I was both confused and disappointed. The Bible is more than 800 pages and look how well it has sold!

I went into a self-destructive death spiral of anxiety and depression, tragically resulting in my suicide __ asphyxiation by immersing my face in an iron pot full of dal bhat.

Ha ha ha!  Just seeing if you were paying attention.

Actually, I put the book aside and wrote five more novels, hundreds of political blogs __ apparently my appetite for death threats is insatiable __ three screenplays, a number of songs, carved my initials in a bench at a city bus stop, sent out over 6,000 Tweets . . . and changed the banner on my Facebook page three times. Wow! Talk about being productive. I'm so impressed with myself!

Anyway, my lovely wife and I were camping through Europe a couple summers ago, when I was gobsmacked by an epiphany. Our tent was pitched outside of Bern, Switzerland, and I was floating on my back in the cold Alpine waters of the Aare River . . . when it hit me.

The Man Who Loved Too Much should be a trilogy!

Yes, I would take that monster the size of the New York Manhattan phone directory and split it into three. With a blessedness that would rival the Trinity in the greater scheme of things, people would then flock to my inspired words.  Surely these novels would kick the Bible itself out of first place as the best selling book ever!

As they say, the rest is history.

Six years.

My trilogy is complete.

When sending death threats, please attach a $100 bill.
_______________________________________________________

 

The Man Who Loved Too Much - Book 1: Archipelago

Fellow lovers of literature! Here we begin the story of Billy Green. With all of the swell advantages of growing up in beautiful Detroit, Michigan . . . what could possibly go wrong? Aren't you maybe just a little bit curious?

Darn . . . I know I was.

And folks, because I genuinely believe in the power of impulse, there's no reason to postpone a decision you will always regret. This epic faux pas is available NOW!

Apple iBook … http://apple.co/1nkebQx
Amazon (Kindle) … http://amzn.to/1tyIRiw
Amazon (Print) … http://amzn.to/1z8F8aD
Barnes & Noble … http://bit.ly/ZDnQVO
Kobo (Indigo) … http://bit.ly/1Og3q8g
Smashwords … http://bit.ly/1w62HOX
Direct from printer … http://bit.ly/1r6qWYQ

__________________________________

 

The Man Who Loved Too Much - Book 2: Entendre

The Billy Green saga continues! Billy’s challenging, sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic, always unpredictable journey.

Our boy from Detroit was more determined than ever to find meaning in life and comfort in love. He failed.

Admittedly, this is the darkest of the three books.

Available from all of the usual suspects! 

Apple iBook … http://apple.co/1P29tDl
Amazon (Kindle) … http://amzn.to/18x1ZnS
Amazon (Print) … http://amzn.to/1xfmjp3
Barnes & Noble … http://bit.ly/18OGY85
Kobo (Indigo) … http://bit.ly/1OS86XB
Smashwords … http://bit.ly/1AMUCPz
Direct from printer … http://bit.ly/1Du7Esh

_______________________________________________________


 

The Man Who Loved Too Much - Book 3: Oxymoron

How do we function in a world which is both as randomly and intentionally cruel, as it is randomly and intentionally kind? Can we make sense of our lives when so much around us makes no sense?

In this, the final book of the trilogy, we find out what it means to be a "man who loves too much". 

Even more importantly, we discover if Billy Green is such a man.

Whew!  Heavy stuff.

Apple iBook … http://apple.co/1W9y6gF
Amazon (Kindle) … http://amzn.to/1LJnMcX
Amazon (Print) … http://amzn.to/1NZPU9Y
Barnes & Noble … http://bit.ly/1fvzxXD
Kobo (Indigo) … http://bit.ly/1mL5zld
Smashwords … http://bit.ly/1LJnRgJ
Direct from printer … http://bit.ly/1K07Yzy


[ This originated at the author's personal web site . . . http://jdrachel.com ]